Chunky Potato Soup

I'm a big fan of soup. I think its just fantastic that so much flavor and nutrition can be packed into such a simple meal! This soup does NOT freeze well, so only make what you want to eat. The ratios are 1 potato per serving, with as many veggies as you have total potatoes. Then just enough liquid to cover. This soup can be made thin or thick. I learned how to make this soup with water, and believe me, it was still a wonderful soup, so vegans won't be missing a thing by leaving out the meat. I've also made this with cream but left out the rouxe as the cream thickened it up plenty. As for the meat, to keep it simple, use the packaged smokies, but I've made this with pretty much any kind of sausage you can think of, I've used combinations of meats, chicken, pork, beef, and even fish! The veggies can vary as well. Leave the peppers out and finely chop some red bell peppers for a garnish - the fresh peppers add a completely different flavor. Actually, I learned to make it with no veggies - straight up potato soup! Then, of course, I started playing. First onions, then celery, and on I went. ;)

Step 1 Cook the Potatoes

I'm making this soup for six servings, so six potatoes. That's a good way to make it, if you can, because it really minimizes waste.
Six potatoes
1 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
1 lg onion
4 stalks celery
1 carrot
2 Tbs Butter
1 Tbs Cayenne Pepper (I like it to have a kick, but this may be too spicy for some)
Rouxe: 2Tbs all-purpose flour 2 Tbs oil

You have to peel the potatoes or they won't "polish" properly. You also need to use a heavy pot. No namby-pamby aluminum pot will do. You'll lose too much potato goodness if you don't use a good pot because you don't want to fry these potatoes. The goal is to heat them slowly from the outside in and keep them rubbing against each other so that the "polish" each other much like a rock tumbler. :) And you need to use a big enough pot that you give yourself plenty of stirring room. I'd suggest a pot that's about 3/4 larger than the amount of potatoes you're stirring.

Melt the butter in your pot and cut your potatoes into large, 1 in. or larger, chunks.When you add the potatoes, you want just enough butter to coat them. Too much butter and they won't rub against each other properly or, as my pic shows, the potato bits will stick to each other. The potato bits sticking together instead of sticking to the potatoes won't harm anything, but who needs the extra calories from too much oil?! ;) As you stir, the potatoes will reduce in size, so don't make them too small.

If you constantly stir, you won't have any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. But if you're chopping at the same time and fall a bit behind, just make sure and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pot as you go. Just think of the stirring as working off calories before you've eaten them! ;) All those little potato bits are the base thickener for the soup.